Instagram tells you what you might like, but that’s not always the case

Instagram collects information about our online activities to show profiled ads. Here's how to find out what Instagram knows about us

The ads that appear on the  Instagram feed every day are based on our interests. Or at least they should be. When we browse the Internet or put a "like" on a photo, we leave traces online that are used by companies to profile us. This is the system at the base of online advertising on which companies like Facebook have created their success.

Few users know that all this information (what we like, our favorite groups, what we watch in the evening) can be controlled directly on their profile. The reason is very simple: after the Cambridge Analytica scandal that hit Facebook, the company of Menlo Park has decided to give more freedom to users in terms of privacy. Even on Instagram you can increase the defenses of your account to prevent strangers from seeing our photos. But that's not all. By entering the settings you can also find out what Instagram knows about us and what we like.

How to find out what Instagram knows about us

The advertisements shown within the social network are based on a series of information that Instagram gets from different sources. In this way, it creates a profile on us and only shows us ads for products that should interest us. In some cases, however, this is not the case and the reason is very simple: the things Instagram knows about us are wrong or partially inaccurate.

The social application also allows us to control what information is used to show ads and what we should like. To check what Instagram knows about us, you need to open the app on your smartphone, press on Settings and then on Security. At this point, press on Access Data and scroll down until you find the "Advertising interests" item. Click on "View All" and a tab will open with your advertising interests according to Instagram. In many cases this is wrong or only partially correct information.